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Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio gave a swan song of sorts during the Tampa Bay Partnership's annual meeting Nov. 19 at the A La Carte Event Pavilion.
Despite all her achievements over the last eight years, including a riverwalk that not only includes a new art museum but a newly opened outdoor ice rink, people tend to remember the last thing. And in her case, that is the failed referendum for improving Hillsborough County's transit system — including light rail — for which she advocated vigorously.
Iorio is taking that loss in stride, and indicated she is willing to push for such progressive projects in the final four months of her tenure at City Hall. She urged partnership members and business leaders to keep pushing for something better.
“We only lose when we stop trying to improve ourselves,” Iorio told the audience of 450 at the Friday afternoon luncheon. She singled out the University of South Florida, Tampa International Airport and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as examples of past community pursuits that were criticized early on.
She added that at the start of her first term in 2003, former mayor Bill Poe offered these words of encouragement: “People want you to succeed,” she said, “because they love Tampa.”
Potential successors to Iorio in the upcoming mayoral election next March include several seasoned local politicians, including former Tampa City Councilman Bob Buckhorn, current Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita and former commissioner Ed Turanchik. Dick Greco, who served as Tampa mayor twice before and has not yet launched a formal campaign, is emerging as an early favorite in a number of local polls.
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